Question about batteries.

Carl wrote:

> I haven't seen a pay phone in years. Where do you find one these days?

outside convenience stores.. the drug dealers use em, cuz tracing is harder
than cellphones....

Peter Pan wrote:
> Carl wrote:
>
>> I haven't seen a pay phone in years. Where do you find one these days?
>
> outside convenience stores.. the drug dealers use em, cuz tracing is harder
> than cellphones....
>
>

Naw, they just go to the nearby wally and buy enough tracphones for
their "associates" for the next week and then toss them and repeat. Just
a small cost of doing business..

At 19 Dec 2008 01:28:21 -0500 Peter Pan wrote:

> > Plan B? I'm hip-deep in backups!
> >
> > In my arsenal: spare battery in my wallet, home AC chargers in three
> > locations, (one with internal battery pack to work when unplugged
> > from AC), USB charger hanging off the laptop, car chargers in both
> > vehicles, solar charger with on-board battery, and spare AC, car, and
> > 4AA battery pack in my travel bag. I have plans B all the way
> > through G or H covered!
>
> so you planned for most calamaties, it's the unplanned ones that will
bite
> you in the rear.... what no plan I, or J......Z?
>
> What if you lose your cellphone? got change for a payphone so you can
call
> to get a new one? <---- My plan Z.......

I'm currenly in Cancun with the arsenal listed above, as well as a backup
prepaid phones with their own chargers and USB adapters as backups.

Battery lasts a lot longer here, since I turned off automatic email
retrieval and haven't made any calls to avoid roaming at $15/MB and
$1.49/min., respectively!

Todd Allcock wrote:
> At 19 Dec 2008 01:28:21 -0500 Peter Pan wrote:
>
>>> Plan B? I'm hip-deep in backups!
>>>
>>> In my arsenal: spare battery in my wallet, home AC chargers in three
>>> locations, (one with internal battery pack to work when unplugged
>>> from AC), USB charger hanging off the laptop, car chargers in both
>>> vehicles, solar charger with on-board battery, and spare AC, car,
>>> and 4AA battery pack in my travel bag. I have plans B all the way
>>> through G or H covered!
>>
>> so you planned for most calamaties, it's the unplanned ones that
>> will bite you in the rear.... what no plan I, or J......Z?
>>
>> What if you lose your cellphone? got change for a payphone so you
>> can call to get a new one? <---- My plan Z.......
>
> I'm currenly in Cancun with the arsenal listed above, as well as a
> backup prepaid phones with their own chargers and USB adapters as
> backups.
>
> Battery lasts a lot longer here, since I turned off automatic email
> retrieval and haven't made any calls to avoid roaming at $15/MB and
> $1.49/min., respectively!
>
Why such a dependency on phones Todd, especially when you're away? I dunno,
but my cell gets turned off when the flight takes off and stays off until I
arrive back home a week later (or two in some cases). You must have some
full agenda. Business trip or pleasure?

I've been to Cancun. But we prefer Cabos these days.

On 2008-12-21, Carl <crothman DeleteThis @NOSPAMoptonline.net> wrote:
> Todd Allcock wrote:
>> I'm currenly in Cancun with the arsenal listed above, as well as a
>> backup prepaid phones with their own chargers and USB adapters as
>> backups.
>>
>> Battery lasts a lot longer here, since I turned off automatic email
>> retrieval and haven't made any calls to avoid roaming at $15/MB and
>> $1.49/min., respectively!
>>
> Why such a dependency on phones Todd, especially when you're away? I dunno,
> but my cell gets turned off when the flight takes off and stays off until I
> arrive back home a week later (or two in some cases). You must have some
> full agenda. Business trip or pleasure?

?? I find I tend to use the phone more when I'm away since the phone
is the only way I have to talk to people I can normally talk to in
person when I'm home. It isn't clear to me why I'd want to avoid talking
to people when I'm away (unless I can't find a cheap way to call), if
I didn't like talking to them I wouldn't talk to them when I was home
either.

Even ignoring this, though, I like to have a phone available for
emergency use when I'm home and I'm even more keen to have one for
emergencies when I'm away, for a fairly broad definition of
"emergency". While being able to call the person who was supposed
to pick me up at my home airport, but who I can't find, is a
convenience, at an airport in a country where I neither speak
the local language nor have any local money being able to phone
that person is more of an imperative.

I could live without a cell phone both at home and away, I guess, but
it is when I'm away that I'm most happy I don't have to.

> I've been to Cancun. But we prefer Cabos these days.

I've been to both but I'm pretty attached to Zihuatanejo now, except
for the restaurants but side trips to Mexico City or Morelia can help
with the latter.

Dennis Ferguson

At 21 Dec 2008 16:58:03 -0500 Carl wrote:

> Why such a dependency on phones Todd, especially when you're away? I
dunno,
> but my cell gets turned off when the flight takes off and stays off until
I
> arrive back home a week later (or two in some cases). You must have some
> full agenda. Business trip or pleasure?


Pleasure.

It's not a dependency issue as much as convenience. I like to be able to
keep in touch with family back home, and, particularly in a country where I
speak so little of the language, the ability to call for
help/instructions/cabs, etc. is handy, as well as for "walkie-talkie"
coordination of family members.

> I've been to Cancun. But we prefer Cabos these days.


I'll look into it, thanks!

Dennis Ferguson wrote:
> On 2008-12-21, Carl <crothman.DeleteThis@NOSPAMoptonline.net> wrote:
>> Todd Allcock wrote:
>>> I'm currenly in Cancun with the arsenal listed above, as well as a
>>> backup prepaid phones with their own chargers and USB adapters as
>>> backups.
>>>
>>> Battery lasts a lot longer here, since I turned off automatic email
>>> retrieval and haven't made any calls to avoid roaming at $15/MB and
>>> $1.49/min., respectively!
>>>
>> Why such a dependency on phones Todd, especially when you're away?
>> I dunno, but my cell gets turned off when the flight takes off and
>> stays off until I arrive back home a week later (or two in some
>> cases). You must have some full agenda. Business trip or pleasure?
>
> ?? I find I tend to use the phone more when I'm away since the phone
> is the only way I have to talk to people I can normally talk to in
> person when I'm home. It isn't clear to me why I'd want to avoid
> talking to people when I'm away (unless I can't find a cheap way to
> call), if
> I didn't like talking to them I wouldn't talk to them when I was home
> either.
>
> Even ignoring this, though, I like to have a phone available for
> emergency use when I'm home and I'm even more keen to have one for
> emergencies when I'm away, for a fairly broad definition of
> "emergency". While being able to call the person who was supposed
> to pick me up at my home airport, but who I can't find, is a
> convenience, at an airport in a country where I neither speak
> the local language nor have any local money being able to phone
> that person is more of an imperative.
>
> I could live without a cell phone both at home and away, I guess, but
> it is when I'm away that I'm most happy I don't have to.
>
>> I've been to Cancun. But we prefer Cabos these days.
>
> I've been to both but I'm pretty attached to Zihuatanejo now, except
> for the restaurants but side trips to Mexico City or Morelia can help
> with the latter.
>
> Dennis Ferguson
>
Well Dennis, we can differ on the merits of whether we want to stay in touch
with the same people we see everyday back home when we're away. I love my
friends and family, but when I go away, I want to do just that, leave the
"normal everyday" behind and "get away". My wife and I go away at least
twice a year and, to date, have never had a need for that type of telephone
service when we're gone. Perhaps it's related to how much planning is done
before one leaves. Perhaps it's just a difference in style.

However, while we can agree to disagree on this vacationing point of view,
you may have missed the point of my question to Todd which was based on the
arsenal of phones and equipment he takes with him when he goes "away", which
included his phone and TWO backup phones, besides enough backup powering
gear to power a small village in Mexico. I just thought that might be a
little overkill.

Todd Allcock wrote:
> At 21 Dec 2008 16:58:03 -0500 Carl wrote:
>
>> Why such a dependency on phones Todd, especially when you're away?
>> I dunno, but my cell gets turned off when the flight takes off and
>> stays off until I arrive back home a week later (or two in some
>> cases). You must have some full agenda. Business trip or pleasure?
>
>
> Pleasure.
>
> It's not a dependency issue as much as convenience. I like to be
> able to keep in touch with family back home, and, particularly in a
> country where I speak so little of the language, the ability to call
> for help/instructions/cabs, etc. is handy, as well as for
> "walkie-talkie" coordination of family members.
>
Ok, I can understand that. It just seemed to me that, as I stated in a post
above, two backup phones seems like a little bit of overkill. But each to
his own, I suppose, right?
>
>> I've been to Cancun. But we prefer Cabos these days.
>
>
> I'll look into it, thanks!
>
It's further, but more southerly so a greater guarantee of better weather, a
little less commercialized, and there is a far smaller number of college
vacationers. Try it for a change of pace.

Todd Allcock wrote:

>
> I'm currenly in Cancun with the arsenal listed above, as well as a
> backup prepaid phones with their own chargers and USB adapters as
> backups.
>
> Battery lasts a lot longer here, since I turned off automatic email
> retrieval and haven't made any calls to avoid roaming at $15/MB and
> $1.49/min., respectively!

Nah Nah.... My battery lasted even longer.. went to club med in cancun for a
week, left the phone at home, stayed at club med for 6 months... phone
worked fine when I got home (and I got free tequila on monday night), and no
expensive connect charges